A Light Against the Darkened Sky
by zealousfreak27
Summary: In which Robin Nico adopts six squirming children, becomes an object of interest for a famous elderly violinist, makes the acquaintance of a very interesting demolitionist, and learns to live again. I PROMISE I'M STILL WORKING ON THIS.
1. Prologue: I'll move mountains

**AN/ If the summary didn't clue you in to what this fic will be like, it's a modern day/our world AU in which Robin is an ex-assassin who ends up, through different circumstances, adopting the younger strawhat pirates. (Everyone who's not Franky and Brook, who will still feature heavily in this story.) So think family feels, fluff, and the tiniest bit of angst and plot.**

**The only warnings I can think of is that it's going to deal with child abuse in very little ways - nothing worse than what's in canon, say. Also will eventually have some Franky/Robin, but only in small doses. If you don't like the pairing you can just ignore it.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It's on a warm, humid Thursday that Robin Nico's life is changed forever. She's getting ready to go to the local library to file books, her third job in sixth months, when she hears a knock at her apartment door.

She opens it to see a familiar face, one that makes her grow weary, as most reminders of her past do. "Hello," says Garp, smiling. He looks older than one would expect, given the relatively short amount of time it's been since she's last seen him. His hair has grayed, and his smile, while still bright, is causing more lines on his face.

"Hello," she returns, while noting the small child, perhaps eight years of age, who's swinging his arm off the edge of Garp's jacket. He's wide-eyed and slack-jawed, with the appearance of one whose mind is far away - not uncommon for a child his age, but somehow endearing. To top it all off, a ratty straw hat adorns his head.

"Luffy," he says, addressing the boy, "why don't you go run around outside?"

The boy nods, strangely eager for having been given such a simple request, and shouts, "_Sim_!" before bounding down the black steps that wind up to Robin's abode.

"Brazilian? But I'd presumed he was yours?" Robin says, only ghosting the question mark at the end of her sentence.

"Bwahaha!" Garp laughs, deeply in his belly. "Sharp as ever, eh, Miss Nico! My grandson, that he is! And half-Brazilian, on his mother's side. Now, why don't you fix me some tea and explain how you knew that."

Robin walks to her kitchen, smiling to herself a little - some people never change. She even starts laughing when she hears him shout, "Oh yeah, and donuts, too! You keep them in stock at all times like any sane person, right?"

Sadly, he is bereft of his pastries, though she grabs him some crackers with to go with his tea, placating him. He's set himself down in her sitting room, and she joins him, cups, tray, and kettle in tow. Robin sits across from him on the only other piece of furniture in the sparsely-decorated area. Then she explains at Garp's prompting that there is a clear resemblance between him and his grandson, and since they were together, and she knows Garp has children, it wasn't too hard of a logical conclusion to reach.

"Of course, I know from your facial structure and slight yet distinctive accent that you're Australian," she relays calmly, knowing full well he is easily impressed, "but his pronunciation of the Portuguese word for 'yes' leaned towards Brazilian."

"I'm always impressed by your freaky spy skills!" Garp says enthusiastically, sipping at his tea. Robin hardly blinks, long since grown accustomed to his lack of tact. "Yeah, he speaks what he picked up before his mother left - but let's talk about you." He leans forward. "How old are you now, young lady?"

"Twenty-five." He asks every time they see one another - Robin suspects he can't do arithmetic.

"Yes of course, you would be!" Garp seems to find this amusing, and gives another laugh. Robin smiles politely. "You're surprisingly easy to track down, for someone with your past," he says, still in good humor. "Why didn't you change your name?"

Her smile turns frosty. "It's all I have left of my home."

Garp nods, sobering. "Yes, that would be true. You haven't had any trouble, hm?"

"No."

"You see, just as I said. You remember, I said, 'Robin girl, you just lie low and change your ways and I promise I'll keep you safe and sound,' and didn't I?"

"Yes," she replies. Robin wants to express verbally her gratitude, but also knows never to show weakness or vulnerability. She straightens her posture to less of a defensive position and does her best to look as though she would never have asked for nor needed his help.

To be honest, Robin is sure she wouldn't have _needed_ help, not in the strictest sense of the word. But if it weren't for the man before her, she'd still be a mercenary for hire, fearing for her safety day by day, living a life akin to a dog's.

"So I came up with an idea," he continues. "I thought to myself, 'What does this girl need, now she's had some time to settle into her new life? Structure, that's what, and responsibility. Companionship.' And I also figured since I can provide those things for you, we could do each other a favor."

"You want me to look after your grandson," Robin fills in, feeling numb. She knows nothing more about how to take care of children than what she's read in a book. She's only equipped to watch out for herself, and to have a life dependent on her, no matter how small, would be a task she doesn't know if she can take up.

"Took the words right out of my mouth, though I'd add you'll be adopting him!" Garp laughs, clapping. "Why don't I go fetch the little bugger, let you have some time to process my generous offer."

Garp exits Robin's tiny sitting room, as she continues to stare at the wall opposite her. She doesn't have a stable home - after fourteen years on the run, she can't bear to stay in one place for more than a few months. She's not a caring person, and she has so much blood on her hands - how could she use those appendages to comfort a child?

At the same time, she knows she really doesn't have an option. She owes Garp much more than she could ever possibly return, and if she were to refuse, she's not certain what would happen to her. Even so, she is overwhelmed - the idea of surrogate motherhood, or motherhood in general, is not a concept she has spent any more than a few spare seconds on.

Before these worries can become an outward crisis, Robin takes several deep breaths, and touches a hand to her neck in a gesture that she's found in the past to be reassuring.

"Sorry I was gone so long!" Garp shouts suddenly, and Robin startles, attempting to regain composure and scolding herself for not being aware of her surroundings. "The little brat had got his head stuck in a sewage grate."

"Shishishi!" Luffy giggles. "Sure was dark down there! But there weren't any crocodiles! Ace said there were crocodiles in sewers!"

Robin finds herself charmed by the child and his bubbly excitement. "I've been told they only come out at night," she returns playfully.

"_Incrível_!" His eyes widen even farther as he most likely imagines the possibilities. "I'll go out searching tonight!"

"Perhaps." Yes, he's going to be staying here...

"Good to see you're getting along!" Garp says, standing up. "In that case, I'll be leaving now."

Robin has to stop herself from asking him to stay, to take the poor child with him. She doubts that even if she were to explain herself he would listen. "I'll back to get you to sign the papers tomorrow, Miss Nico! Behave for her, Luffy!"

"Whatever!" Luffy shouts back, already getting up to wander around.

Robin looks down at her hands. She hasn't even been introduced to the kid. God how is she going to -

"Oi, oi, Lady!" she hears. She looks up to see the boy grinning at her. "What're you called?"

"I'm Robin Nico; what's your name?" she asks, for the sake of politeness.

He smiles hugely. "Luffy D. Monkey, nice to meet cha!"

Then he walks away, muttering to himself about meat, and if she catches it right, how crocodile would taste.

The boy - Luffy - is always smiling, she's already noticed. When she was a child, even before the events that happened when she was eight, she rarely performed the action. In fact, she only ever smiled for the archeologists, Saul, and her mother. That is, of course, a part or her nature - even today, she typically smiles in order to invoke a reaction from those around her, or because she finds most things amusing as a coping mechanism.

Luffy's smiles are genuine, and even if that is his nature, he does not seem to have cause for them to be so. His father clearly is unable or does not want to have custody of him, Garp had said his mother had "left," and his grandfather has just left him alone with a strange woman for who knows what reason. But he smiles, as carefree as if he were the favorite child of a happy, rich family.

Robin does not understand those with that sort of strength. She may have tried to imitate Saul, but adversity has only made her hard and cruel. But this child in her care, he is neither of those things, despite the way he seems to have been treated as discarded baggage. He's not ruined yet. And Robin intends to keep him that way.

"Um, Miss Nicky?" came a voice from the kitchen. "Why's there no meat?"

Walking into the other room, she beholds the sight of the dark-haired boy and all of her food strewn across the floor, presumably after a ransacking in his quest for flesh. Well, may as well have some fun...

"I'm a vegetarian. No meat is allowed under my roof."

One would think she'd killed Santa Claus.

"No meat!?" he says, the very idea inconceivable to him.

She laughs a little, and he growls at her. Clearly this is serious business. "No, I just remembered I quit last week. How about we run to the market to buy some?"

His face brightens, and he runs over to her, grabbing her hand to pull her towards the door. Seems she's been forgiven. "Yes! _Carne_, _carne,_ _carne_!"

As she rushes down the stairs to her apartment to keep up with her charge, just barely having been able to lock her front door, she wonders what she's getting into. She doesn't know what her future will hold, or if she'll be able to do right by this boy. But she knows one thing: this is a second chance for her. A chance to change the world for the better, and make herself anew.

"Take me to the meat!" Luffy demands cheekily.

"Yes sir," Robin says, somehow happier than she's been in ages, thought that may just be the adrenaline.

"And then after I eat, we can go look for crocodiles, right?" He looks hopeful, so...

"Why not?"

* * *

**AN/ It may take me a while but I _promise_ to finish this fic. I already have the entire thing planned out - it's going to have 10 chapter including a prologue and epilogue. All titles from "I'll Move Mountains" by Roo Panes.**

**I've made up a fictional city that Robin's living in, which I'll elaborate on later. Also, I aged Robin up a little, just so it'll be more conceivable to take care of these kids.**

**In this verse, while Garp IS trying to pawn Luffy off on someone, he does genuinely think he's helping Robin out and he and Robin have a history I'll be going into later. But that's why his approach to dropping him off is like this.**

**Every Strawhat has been given a nationality by Oda in an SBS question, so I'm using those. Luffy only knows like twelve Portuguese words, and the only reason he even remembers them is because there's certain things (like the word for meat) that he says all the time.**


	2. Oh cry, my friend, no more

"And then Shanks saved me from the stupid dog!" Luffy concludes. "But he got bitten, and he _still_ wouldn't let me go on a road trip with him. I told him I was gonna surpass him some day, and he gave me his hat. That's why I'm going to have the most successful gang of all time, got it?" He beams at Robin, who thinks to herself that that explained absolutely nothing. She doesn't voice the thought, though, because by now she knows not to attempt to parse out her charge's logic.

Luffy, over the course of the last week, has told her many intriguing but convoluted stories. He's quiet the little chatterbox, in fact. Robin certainly isn't complaining, having always been more of an observer, and plenty of what he's said she's filed away as possible blackmail material. Not that she thinks she'll need it, but she's learned to take leverage when she can.

So far, she's been able to piece together a good amount of the boy's history. Luffy'd been born in Brazil, when, for reasons unknown, his mother had vanished. He was three at the time and according to what he'd told Robin, he had no firm memory of her, and seemed unbothered by the whole ordeal. He'd then been picked up by his grandfather, who he sounds frightened of, and taken to Colorado, where he'd lived in a small town, with only the supervision of a petty criminal named Dadan. Apparently he had made friends with a man named "Shanks," and two older boys who he insisted are his brothers. The brothers of his sound like little scoundrels, at least as far as the law is concerned, and apparently Shanks is the head of a mafia family. After Luffy had been caught trying (and failing) to hijack a truck load of meat, his grandfather had decided the people he'd left Luffy with were a bad influence on him. In response, he'd sent him to live with an _ex-assassin_. Robin feels as though his brain should be dissected for science.

All of this Robin had garnered from the garbled vignettes Luffy had regaled her with during meals or moments they caught together when she wasn't working. And work she does - she is still working at the library, but the day after she'd officially become Luffy's guardian, she'd gone out in search of a second job. If she is to be a surrogate mother, surely she will be financially responsible enough to provide for more than herself. She used her old fake credentials to become a curator at Prinville's small history museum. Neither of her jobs pay superbly, but it should be enough for her and Luffy to live off. If the boy doesn't eat her out of house and home, that is.

When she goes off to work at the library by day, she first drops him off at a local daycare, run by a stern man known as Jinbei. That's another cost, along with medical care, clothes, toys and books, that Robin has to take into consideration. Then after working an eight hour shift, she picks him up, usually with a few exasperated yet fond comments on Luffy's behavior. Jinbei is a long-suffering fellow, who grew to like her charge quickly, despite his chaotic nature. She still thinks he'll be relieved when Luffy begins first grade in the fall. (From Garp, Robin learned that Luffy, although old enough to be in second grade, had no previous education. The knowledge had made her want to slap the man for irresponsibility - even a child as simple as Luffy ought to be in school.)

Once she's taken Luffy home, she attempts to provide him with the bonding and nurturing that the parenting books she's checked out from the library and the articles she's found online have said are important to any child's development. It's not difficult - Luffy is a cheerful and entertaining child, and Robin has made it a goal of hers to give him the best childhood possible. Besides, it has led to much amusement for her, even excluding the stories he's shared in regards to his life. For instance, when she'd divulged to him that she is Russian, he'd later raided her kitchen for all the vodka she was sure to own. It had taken him a whole two days to get her name right, previously calling her "Miss Nicky," before finally settling on "Robin" because he likes it better.

One of the only areas in which Luffy is easy to control is his sleeping, as he routinely passes out by eight, or at the latest, nine. He uses her old guest room, which has been transformed inexorably into Luffy's play-den. Robin works nights at the museums, her shift running from ten o'clock through four. When Luffy starts school, she imagines, she'll get less sleep, but for now, she gets to rest until around eight-thirty, before having to start all over again. It's lucky her old life has conditioned her for such a taxing routine.

While it's a fine way of living, the weekends are what Robin loves the best, as she truly is allowed to relax and spend time with the child. She's only known Luffy for a few short weeks, but it feels like a lifetime. Who she was before is now an alien entity - that Robin who had gone through her days alone, thinking only of herself. Everything is different now.

She can't explain why this transformation has occurred. Luffy, on the surface, is not so complicated. Even a child does not escape from Robin's analytical eye, and she has spent spare time wondering what is so special about him. He is amusing, of course, but Robin can name any number of individuals who he shares that in common with. From what she has divined, he is nothing more than a silly eight year old boy, whose smiles are as bright as the sun, yes, but whose nature is immature as one would expect.

Has he brought so much change to her life simply because he is an innocent child, one who has provided her with meaning and companionship? Those things are certainly both true, but she doesn't think those account for the way she wants to protect him, the way her heart swells when he runs to her after a long day of work.

One thing Robin has been able to single out about him: he reminds her of Saul. She prefers not to drudge up those memories, though, so instead she devotes her time to work or play, as Luffy demands it.

* * *

"Robin! Come see! I wanna show you! Come quick, come quick!" It's a fair Saturday, and Robin has taken Luffy to the park. While he is clamoring over every available surface, she is reading a book detailing the exploits and psychosis of one of the most infamous serial killer of all time. (She considered narrating it to Luffy as a bedtime story, but concluded that it's above his reading level.)

She stands up and stretches, leisurely looking around. It's not a particularly impressive park, which she supposes makes sense, with Prinville's medium population and lack of community. The day is lovely, however, and while Robin prefers the darkness, she can admit the sun shining through the trees and the wind blowing the scent of flowers past her is very soothing. Luffy's imploring voice calling to her is not, so she picks up her pace, finding the child sitting in a patch of grass, looking intently at moving figures on the ground.

His head turns up to see her, and the corners of his mouth pull apart even farther. "Ah, there you are! Look, look, look!"

So she looks, and her eyes take in two very impressive beetles that Luffy is fearlessly forcing to race. "Hm," Robin says, "_Dynastes tityus_ is the one on the left, I believe, and the other is a _Pasimachus depressus._"

"Huh? Whazzat?" Luffy scratches his head.

"Their scientific names."

"Whoa." Luffy looks back at the beetles in awe - the _Dynastes tityus_ is winning. "You guys have met scientists, and they gave you fancy names?"_  
_

Robin smiles indulgently. "No, those names are what their species is called."

"What's a species? Can I eat it? Is it _carne_?"

"A species is what specific type of creature a being is. So you're a human, which makes you a _Homo sapiens_."

"Cool!" Luffy looks down at his hands. "I'm a Homo! I can't wait to tell Sabo."

_Oh dear_, Robin thinks, and begins to laugh. When Luffy inquires about what's so funny, she shakes him off, redirecting his attention to the race. "Do your beetles have a finish line?"

"Yep," he replies happily, nodding towards some distant trees. "They won't hurry up though." Then he precedes to heckle the insects, poking at them until they move faster. Once they're going at an acceptable rate, he starts to squirm and cheer, rooting for one and then the other, depending on who had the lead. Robin joined in for the fun of it.

It's _Pasimachus depressus _that crosses under the shadow of the mimosa Luffy choose out first, and Luffy proudly proclaims he's won. Robin tactfully does not point out that he was the only one who was playing.

Perhaps that thought occurred to him none-the-less, because Luffy is quiet on the walk home. When Robin holds out her hand for him to take when crossing the street, he grabs it tightly, and when they are safely on the sidewalk again, he doesn't let go.

"Are you alright, sir?" she asks, using the sort-of pet name she'd given him on their first day of having known each other. It usually makes him giggle, but not this time. He casts his gaze down, the straw hat shading his eyes.

"I used to play that game with Ace and Sabo," he mutters. His voice is thick.

"Now," Robin says awkwardly, not sure how handle the situation, "don't cry."

"I'm not crying!" Luffy says, desperately trying to sound tough. "Ace says crying is for babies."

In other circumstances, she would use this moment to gently bring up that just because Ace said crying was "for babies," it didn't mean that was the view Luffy had to have. But at the moment, she doesn't know what to say at all.

Robin is smart - she knows it, she's always known it. Her intellect, she knows, is, at the end of the day, all she really has to offer herself and others. It's failing her now, though, so what good is it really?

For all her experience with manipulation and understanding of the human psyche, she can't comfort a small child. She is stuck, staring at the top of his head, wanting to reach out but frozen.

And even if she knew how to, she isn't sure she'd be able to face her selfishness. Beyond a few seconds of musing, she hadn't stopped to ponder Luffy's feeling, not since she'd first met him. No, she'd been too caught up in herself, in work or how _she_ felt about the situation, without realizing that she wasn't the one who'd been uprooted from her home and taken from her family, a feeling she should have been able to sympathize with. No, Luffy had made her life better, and she'd naïvely assumed that was true both ways.

How wrong had it been of her, to think that because Luffy seemed simple and content, that he could feel nothing but happiness? With how warmly he spoke of his brothers, how could she, who prided herself in her awareness of those around her, have thought he would not miss them?

The answer to those questions was that Robin was still, after everything, a damned oblivious fool. Her head was in the clouds, despite how many times she'd realized in the past how that vantage point skews a true understand of the world. She'd selfishly clung to the storybook picture of her and Luffy as a family, of her as someone with value, when she should have known better.

Robin's step wobbles as she leads Luffy back to the house in a daze, the sun setting behind them. Luckily, she'd started dinner before they'd left, so she places it gingerly in front of him, before fleeing to her bedroom. She collapses against the wall, closing her eyes tight. She can't face him.

Oh god. What is she going to do?

She can't raise a child. What had ever possessed her to think she could? She's stumbling in the dark, and she's only going to end up lost.

_Besides_, a voice from deep in her mind whispers, _you're not really pure-intentioned and giving, taking care out of the boy out of the goodness of your heart, are you? No - you're using him, like you use everyone, for some sick little game. Trying "to start over" with him, huh? Did you think about what would actually be right for him? Or are you actually so selfish that you thought your pathetic attempts would give him what he needs? You have seen what happens when something is used. It ends up dry and empty._

She knows it's true. She was an assassin, a thief, a liar - she'd acted as though her life was worth the detriment of others. And now she's using another's life - a child's - to make herself feel as though that was all justified.

Robin can't raise Luffy. She'll ruin him. She ruins everything.

She hears her door creak open, and with a start she realizes tears are streaming down her cheeks. She turns her face to the side, not wanting Luffy to worry.

But because he's a better person than she'll ever be, he steps over to where she's slumped on the floor and sits down next to her. "Nah, Robin, why're you crying?" he asks, a little blankly, but his hand has reached out to touch hers, making up for his lack of intonation.

She's such a bad person that her own child is having to comfort her. It should be the other way around.

"My child," Robin whispers, wondering at the way her mind had automatically phrased that. No matter the wrong or right of it, she recognizes Luffy as hers now. She doesn't know if she can bear to let that go.

"Hey," Luffy says, his tiny hand slipping thoroughly into hers. "You're gonna tell me what's the problem now. Okay?"

Robin manages a watery grin, turning her head to glance at him. "Yes sir." She takes a deep breath. "You miss your brothers. I can tell. And I love having you here with me, but I'm just being selfish. I'm also worried about a lot of boring adult stuff." There. She hopes that satisfies him.

Luffy nods thoughtfully. "Well, I do miss my brothers. But you're stupid for being sad." She lets out a quick laugh, and he grins and continues. "See, I don't say goodbye to people, even my brothers, because I'm going to see them again someday. It's not a sad thing to be away from them, even if I miss them sometimes, 'cause I know they're fine. Plus, they promised they'd visit me!"

"Is that so? I don't think Garp would allow that to happen."

"Ah, Ace said something about sneaking on an airplane..." He smiles brightly, but then sobers again. "And the other thing you said - for a smart lady you're really dumb. Being selfish isn't a bad thing when it's to do with family! I don't wanna be away from you either, Robin!"

Luffy's eyes are shining with sincerity. She has to look away. "Oh." She breathes out deeply. "You have a surprising amount of insight, Luffy."

"Shishishishi! Really?" He bounces a little in happiness.

"Yes." She smiles at him softly.

She may not be a perfect person. She knows she isn't the best choice for caring for a kid. But she already loves him, and that has to count for something. All she can do is try. Robin is smart - she'll make her way through this. Right in that moment, she promises that she will be the very best version of herself there is. For Luffy. For her child.

"Come on," Robin says, standing up. "Let's go get you some dessert."

"Yay!"

* * *

**AN/ This chapter gave me all sorts of trouble, mostly to do with organization. Bleh. I hope it came out alright. Haha, writing Robin's rather screwed up logic was fun! Though I love her rational side too. Like, lady, Garp was the one who took him from his brothers, not you. But hey, that's what years of living the shittiest life possible can do to a person! Screws with the self-image, even for someone as smart as Robin. At least her reaction here didn't involve her running away; no Buster Call to threaten I guess.**

**We will be seeing more of both Robin's past and the city they're living in at the moment in the future. Ace and Sabo will not be appearing in this fic, but I'm planning on writing a side story one shot in which they come to visit.**

**Anyway, next chapter will introduce a green-haired friend of Luffy's!**

**Thanks so so SO much to everyone who faved and followed last chapter! I'm very flattered that you all enjoyed it!**


	3. Loving never helped that lonely heart

**AN/ Do you know who deserves a standing ovation? My beta, the lovely laconic edge, for kicking my ass and making this chapter about thirty times better than it would have been had it been left to my devices. Seriously. All the props.**

**Also, quick shout out to Star Josherson and scatteredPhilosopher for giving me someone to ramble at and discuss with in the time between this chapter and the last one. They're both great sports! **

**Finally, I've put a link in my profile to a playlist of songs I listen to while writing, that I made specifically for this story 'cause I'm a massive dork. It's right at the top, if you wanna listen while reading!**

* * *

Robin notes the clouds rolling back in the September sky with a feeling of self-satisfaction. The weather is falling in nicely with her plans. Earlier that morning it looked like there would be rain, but now the sun is shining and the air is crisp.

She's walking from the library after a fairly pleasant day of work - only two people had seen it necessary to make use of Prinville's smaller book collection this fine Monday, so she had had a leisurely time of it. It allowed her to relax and reread a James Joyce novel she hadn't partaken of in years. She'd been about halfway through it when she had noticed the time, checking out of work rather cheerfully, smirking at her bemused coworker's faces.

Today is a special day, and Robin intends to celebrate it.

It's seven blocks from Prinville's second library, where Robin is employed, to its largest elementary school. Robin had actually selected the city for its medium size - after living in uncivilized small towns and booming industrial sprawls, she thinks she prefers a middle ground. Prinville she had seen as a prime location for her, as she had never moved in circles in this area of the country. Besides, while having harsh winters and warm summers, Pennsylvania has a very pleasing climate in the spring and fall. Robin breathes in deeply while strolling ever closer to her destination.

As of today, Luffy has been enrolled in first grade for one month. Robin is happy, and proud. Although he has a hard time concentrating, and she's gotten several reports of "unruly and disruptive behavior," Robin is pleased with his progress. Luffy needs to be able to read, and he's well aware of this himself, though he expressed it in his own way. (The leader of a gang has to understand threatening letters from other gangs, right?) So she knows he's trying his best, and she understands that her priorities may not be the same as his. However, she will always insist any child under her care be literate and have a basic concept of history, and that is the end of the matter.

As far as how Luffy has been doing socially, Robin has her concerns. He seems perfectly happy, and when she asked, he's replied that he wasn't lonely because he had her. While that was more than gratifying to hear - though she has grown used to the unbridled affection Luffy is liable to throw at those around him - she imagines he's still feeling the loss of his brothers. She thinks it would do him well to make some friends his own age, but he is both a year older than the other children in his class, and also considered an oddball.

Finally approaching the school, she spots her charge, who flashes her a smile and barrels toward her, before skidding to a stop and hopping in place. "I can write my name!" he exclaims, exceedingly proud.

"Very good," she replies, reaching down to pat his straw hat indulgently, amused when he fusses that he just got it back. (Undoubtedly, Luffy's least favorite part of school is the dress code that disallows flip-flops and hats.) As a matter of fact, his class had begun to learn how to perform that particular task the second week of school, but progress is progress. "I wonder if you could master my name next," she muses, taking his hand to lead him away from the other children.

She doesn't bother asking how his day was, knowing that he'll share everything he's willing to. And indeed, he prattles on about this and that, complaining that the teacher cut recess off five minutes early because he'd wanted to get back to the lesson, and showing her the earwax collection he's been building up during the so-called nap time.

When she turns left where she would regularly turn right, Luffy doesn't seem to notice, making her glad - this will truly be a surprise.

When Robin sees the purple sign, she comes to a stop, watching Luffy look up at her in confusion. "Hey, Robin, why aren't we home?"

"Did you know, you've been in school for a month?"

"That's the one that's longer than a week, right?"

"Yes. So I thought we could get some ice cream to celebrate."

"Awesome!" Luffy runs past her, over to the counter. "Do they have meat flavors? Come read the menu to me!"

"No, no meat flavored ice cream - not at a Six Cones, anyway," she says while walking over to catch up.

"Aw." Luffy pouts.

"Hm..." Robin makes a big show of thinking. "If you want meat that badly - "

"I always want meat!"

" - then perhaps we could go out for some tonight. What would you say to steak?"

"Yay! Robin's the best!"

"You charmer." She turns to the person at the register. "Let's get you some ice cream."

* * *

Many would consider taking Luffy to a fancy restaurant a mistake, but Robin thinks the night was a success, in that she was amused and her charge was happy. Sure, he might have destroyed a plate or two, and spit up food in their waitresses face, but the girl had been tipped well and Luffy's bottomless pit for a stomach had been filled by the end of the night.

So of course, the night after such enjoyment, things would go wrong.

"Luffy! Where are you?" Everyday, he waits for her at a lamppost right near the bus stop. (She'd let him ride the bus his third day of school as an experiment, and by the time she'd gotten home, he'd eaten all the food he could find and brought several snakes in the house. She prefers to pick him up herself, now.) Today, he's not where he's meant to be at all, and he'd promised to always head straight to the spot when school let out. She trusts his word.

Her first idea is naturally to ask the teacher, a laid-back but somehow smug looking man named Trafalgar, if he has any idea where Luffy could be. The man just shrugs, entirely too relaxed, and Robin internally curses.

She begins to walk away from the school, formulating several plans of action, when something catches her eye. Directing her eyes to the movement, she sees a trash heap being waded through.

Is that... green hair?

"I know it's around here somewhere..." A young voice drifts to her ear - not Luffy's, so it must have been the green-haired child, a boy who appears to be ten or so. "Dammit, why does this school have to be so goddamn confusing... I used to always have a hard time finding - " Abruptly, the voice cuts off.

Luckily, Robin spots Luffy, sparing her having to attempt to understand what the other boy is saying. She calls out, "Luffy!" and he turns towards her, tugging on the other boy's dirty shirt.

"It's Robin! Oi, Robin, here I am! Sorry I wasn't in the right place!"

She jogs over to them, frowning. Luffy looks perfectly fine, as does the other boy, which raises some questions. "Why weren't you on the corner, where you usually are?"

"Shishishi..." Luffy laughs sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his head. "I don't really understand."

Robin narrows her eyes. Now that the concern is wearing away, her sharp edges are emerging. "I'm sure you'll find a way to express yourself."

"You see, I was waiting where you told me to, like usual, when some older boys came up to me. I was singing 'Yellow Submarine,' 'cause that's Sabo's favorite song ya know, and I don't think they liked my voice." He pouts. Robin does not like where this story is going.

"They asked me, 'What kinda freak are you?' I was gonna get mad, but Shanks says that kinda thing's not worth it. So I remembered what you told me, Robin! 'Cause I wanna tell my brothers, remember? I just told them I'm a homo! And they made funny faces, and then I remembered that everyone's a homo because that's what human means and I said that too. Then they grabbed me and said we were gonna go on a walk and pulled me behind the school. I don't really know what they were - "

"They were gonna beat the shit out of him," the other boy says. Robin takes a moment to look at him. Along with the green hair, he cuts a striking figure. He has well-defined muscles for a child his age, and an impressive height as well. Obviously of Asian descent, Japanese if Robin had to wager a guess, he is wearing an intense glare.

"What?" Luffy exclaims. "But they said they were taking me on a walk!"

"How are you _even alive_?"

"Huh." Luffy laughs, ignoring the question. "I wondered why you beat them up and made them run away! Thanks Zoro, I guess you saved me!"

"Whatever," the boy, apparently named Zoro, huffs.

"Oh yeah, Robin, this is Rororo Zoro! Isn't it a funny name? He's from _Dragon Ball Z_ country, so his last name comes first."

"How do you do?" Robin says, smiling. "I'm Robin Nico. Thank you for looking out for him."

"It wasn't anything special." The boy looks away and clears his throat. "And the name's Roro_noa _Zoro, just so you know."

"Good to know." Robin looks around. "I don't understand something," she says, speaking to the both of them. "If Zoro stopped those boys, why are you in the trash? Did they throw you in?"

"No." Zoro is blushing slightly, and Robin wonders if her theory was correct.

"He's taking me back to the school!" Luffy says brightly.

So she was right, the older boy was indeed lost. She raises her eyebrows at him.

"Shut up!" he growls in response, and starts to walk away.

"Zoro!" Luffy calls. "Where are you going! Come back - I wanna talk to you about how you knocked those boys over!"

He looks back for the briefest of moments, before turning back around and raising his hand. "Maybe we can talk some other time. See you."

Luffy stares as he leaves, before taking Robin's hand. "He's so cool! I'm gonna be his friend."

"I'm sure you are." She purses her lips, watching as the lean figure disappears from their line of sight, and tries not to worry. "Come on, let's go home."

* * *

The day after the incident with Luffy's bullies, when Robin went to pick him up, Zoro was standing right next to him, grim-faced and commanding as a bodyguard. She couldn't say whether or not she was surprised, though now in retrospect, she should have trusted Luffy's instinct.

For he was correct. Luffy is Zoro's friend. More often than not, he'll be waiting with Luffy at the corner after school. If he isn't, he'll later be slinking around their street as if in apology, and offer to teach the boy to defend himself (Zoro is a self-proclaimed swordsman), to which Luffy will enthusiastically agree. In general, Luffy's boundless energy seems to balance out against Zoro's level-headedness, and they clearly enjoy one another's presence immensely.

While Robin is more than pleased that her charge has a playmate, she's felt her concerns shift towards the green-haired boy. He's a solemn child, though he smiles often enough in Luffy's presence, but often, she'll catch a glimmer of grief in his eyes.

Also, over the course of the past couple weeks, she's noticed several details that led her to believe he doesn't have a home. He seems to be fed regularly enough, and neither does he appear malnourished, but when she'll say something innocuous like, "Shouldn't you getting home? I'm sure you're family is worried about you," he'll grumble that no one's gonna miss him anyway. However, if she tries to pry more deeply, he gets defensive and announces that it isn't any of her business. She manages to do little things for him, like buying him treat along with Luffy, but he won't let her get close. It's troubling.

* * *

All of her worries come to a head several days later, on a gray Tuesday. The boys have found an open field near the park to practice in, and Zoro is showing Luffy defensive stances. Robin is sitting comfortably on a bench, devouring a book on the history of Mongolia, only looking up occasionally to check on them. The third time she does so, she spots Smoker, who's presumably going to the park, judging off the young girl with him.

Smoker is an... acquaintance. Robin is good at blending into crowds, at not being seen as a threat, but he's a police detective, and a sharp one at that. He lives only a street away from her. They've only spoken a handful of times - Prinville is not so small that it is a regularity to bump into neighbors. Still, every time she sees him, she feels a certain weight from his eyes, as if he knows everything. Of course, that could be paranoia, or simply how the man looks at everyone.

It's surprising to see him with a child - she's fairly sure he lives alone. But indeed, there's a raven-headed girl with glasses running ahead of him, giggling. Interesting.

She hadn't been planning on speaking to the man, but Luffy has gotten distracted and seems to be introducing himself to Smoker's child, who seems a little shy. She steps backwards and trips over a rock, sprawling out on the ground and losing her glasses.

Zoro walks over, rolling his eyes at Luffy, and picks them up. "Here you - " Half-way through handing them to her, he stops talking, and his eyes widen. Robin observes with interest. "You - " he chokes, before straightening and looking around wildly. "Shit," he grits out, and ignores it when Smoker calls him out for his language. Robin sees his body tense, and suddenly, he takes off, running away from the park.

"Zo-ro!" Luffy yells after him, drawing out the name. "Where are you going? You were supposed-ta teach me how to break someone's wrist!" But despite his friend's call, he doesn't turn back around.

"Who's the brat?" Smoker asks, stalking towards Robin, but it's Luffy who answers.

"That's Ronono Zoro!" he says cheerfully. "He's my friend."

"Hm." Smoker narrows his eyes. "I think I've seen you two around. Weren't you two the ones who broke the swing set last week?"

"No no!" Luffy replies, waving his hands around frantically and visibly beginning to sweat. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Luffy..." she says. "We'll talk about this later."

"Crap! How can you always tell?"

"I know you've got custody of this one," Smoker injects, "but who is the other one? Why'd he freak out at my niece?"

Luffy steps towards the girl, and she grabs on to Smoker's leg. "I dunno! I didn't do anything. Don't get mad at me!"

"Ah, I just didn't tell you my name earlier!" he exclaims. "I'm Luffy D. Monkey, you?"

"Oh." The little girl brightens. "I'm Tashigi. Hi!"

Luffy takes this as a sign to socialize, and asks the girl why she fell over. Smoker just looks on in silence, occasionally taking the time to give Robin a suspicious glance.

* * *

A few hours later and Robin is trying not to let herself worry.

Luffy's not, of course, as he's under the impression that Zoro is cooler than him and therefore invincible. Robin knows better than to believe anyone is so.

It's started to rain, and she doesn't want to think of where he might be slumped at the moment. Sure, it's not like she thinks he ever has anywhere to go, but after his outburst earlier, she wishes she had assurance he isn't alone.

She's sitting at small kitchen table, acting as she normally would, sipping coffee and reading, but Luffy knows. Somehow he can always tell when she's upset. He's as blunt in this case as he always is.

"If you're so worried," he starts, picking his nose, "go out and look for him." His tone is a little bored, like he can tell exactly what the outcome of this all will be.

"I don't know where he is."

Luffy smiles. "You'll find him if you want to."

She sighs, leaning back in her chair. "You have to promise you won't leave the house, and won't answer the door. I'm taking my phone - call if something happens. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Gotcha!"

* * *

The first thing Robin does is think back through all the things she's heard Zoro say. Although the boy has a rotten sense of direction to say the least, he sounds familiar with the West side of the city. If she can't think of anything else, she'll comb the streets there.

What has he said to Luffy? It's usually her charge talking, not Zoro, but whenever he's showing Luffy how to fight, he takes the lead. Where could he have learned the good form he has in the first place? Yes, she remembers one conversation she'd half-listened to, about a week ago. Zoro had mentioned a dojo. In the entirety of Prinville, she can only think of one place that could be termed thus.

She starts heading towards Kaichin's, a dojo she passes on her way to the night shift at the museum. It takes her ten minutes walking fast pace from her apartment, and she's breathing heavily when she arrives, having managed to get soaked despite her umbrella. She wipes her feet on a mat outside the door, knocking and hoping she will find a lead.

An Asian man opens the door, stern-looking, with his hair pulled back into a ponytail. "Hello," he says gravely. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

She may as well cut to the chase. "Do you know a boy named Zoro? Green hair, perhaps ten. He's a little hard to miss."

"Ah, yes." The man sighs deeply. "You should come in."

His name is Koshiro, he informs her while he finds her a place to sit. Zoro showed up at his dojo two years ago and demanded to be taught swordplay. Koshiro still doesn't know where he was from, but managed to learn he's an orphan. Zoro wouldn't let anyone close, and always ran off at the end of the day, but he saw no harm in letting him join the other students, and did his best to make sure the boy stayed fed and out of danger.

"He quickly became one of my best pupils," Koshiro says, a smile gracing his face for an instant. "But he's a proud boy, who always wants to be the best. My daughter Kuina was always able to defeat him. They seemed to have some sort of rivalry, but he took it quite hard when she died."

The man says it so matter-of-factly that Robin finds herself taken aback. "When?"

She can see the traces of sadness around his eyes now. Maybe he is just the sort of man who faces reality for what it is. "Two months ago now; she fell down the stairs. So senseless." He looks down. "Zoro was very broken up, and kept repeating that they'd made a promise. After that, he stopped coming in. I presume he made your acquaintance since then?"

"Yes," she replies. "So, he wouldn't have come here then."

"No." The man leans forward. "But if you're trying to find him, he's probably in the clear space of the small woods to the left of the dojo. It's where he and Kuina would fight when they didn't want me to know about it."

"Thank you." Robin stands up to walk out of the building, casting one last look at Koshiro, who looks tired. "I'm sorry for your loss."

He only nods in reply.

* * *

The man must know Zoro well, because Robin finds him quickly. He's standing in the rain, yelling something indistinguishable at the sky and using training katanas to bash against trees. She doesn't approach, and stands watching him for several moments.

Eventually, he collapses to the ground, although even then the line of his back is rigid, his fists clenched against his thighs. She inches closer until she is holding her umbrella over him, shielding him from the weather.

"She looked just like her," she hears him say, quietly over the wind. Robin doesn't reply except to put her hand on his shoulder and wait for him to compose himself.

After what feels like ages of silence, she says, "Do you want to go somewhere dry?"

He shakes his head violently. "I - I'm fine on my own. I don't need help from you."

"I'm sure Luffy would be very happy to have a friend sleep over," she coaxes.

"Yeah... Luffy would." He sniffs. "I guess so. But don't think I want your charity!"

"I wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

Luffy, as predicted, is thrilled, when Robin returns with a sopping wet Zoro in tow. He vibrates with excitement and starts to show his friend around the place, despite him trailing water over everything. Robin, meanwhile, goes about making Zoro a comfortable floor bed in Luffy's room.

Despite the fact that her charge is a very early sleeper, his friend gets tired almost immediately, yawning hugely as Luffy drags him to look at the bathroom. It's only seven in the evening, but Robin quietly steps in to suggest they head to bed. Zoro looks suspicious, but Luffy just giggles and drags him towards Robin's old guest bedroom, excited to have someone to share it with. She nods to herself and starts making plans for the next morning.

* * *

"Luffy! Zoro! Time to get up!" she says, enjoying the sight of Luffy with an arm full around an unaware Zoro. (He must have rolled off his bed in his sleep.) Robin wants to make this sort of occurrence regular.

Luffy's head shoots up immediately as he takes in his surroundings, but his friend remains stubbornly asleep. "Up time!" he yells, causing the green-haired boy to grumble.

"Get the hell off me," he says, his voice muffled through his pillow.

"You'll miss breakfast," Luffy whines, tugging on his shirt. (Zoro had borrowed one of his own, and it's rather comical how much it doesn't fit him.) "Wait," he realizes, "that'll mean there's more for me! Robin, take me to the food!"

"Oh no you don't," Zoro growls, flinging his pillow in Luffy's face.

"Yay! Pillow fight!" And they dissolve into play fighting from there.

"Well, when you're ready for food, come and get some," she says with humor in her voice, walking down the hall away from them.

Muffled curses come from behind her as both boys rush to the kitchen. "Feed me now!" Luffy demands. Zoro doesn't say anything but his expression speaks for him.

"Yes sir. Pancakes and bacon, coming right up."

"Yay! Isn't Robin the best?"

"She's okay."

"Such high praise." Robin sets two plates before them. "Dig in."

Luffy does so, but surprisingly, Zoro thanks her.

So far, she'd say the day is off to a good start. It's only Zoro's stubbornness she has concerns about now.

And sure enough, after eating, Zoro says he's going to leave despite Luffy's protests.

"Zoro, would you take a moment to talk to me first?" she calls. He looks at her warily, but complies.

"How would you like to live with Luffy and I?" she says directly.

"What are you, some kinda witch? You gonna keep me here forever and ever or somethin'?" he asks suspiciously.

"No, and it'll be your choice. But if you're tired of not having a roof over your head, and food on a normal basis, our home is open to you."

"You don't have my birth certificate, or anything." He looks a little hopeful, if she's interpreting his face right.

"Don't worry, I have friends in high places."

"Che. Shifty woman." He looks her up and down, though his posture has relaxed. "So, if I said yes, which I'm not saying I will, what's going to happen?"

She flashes him a small smile. "Well, you'll start first grade, unless you've had previous schooling - "

"I took first and second grade," he cuts in.

"Alright, so you'll be enrolled in third grade, and you'll get your own space here with Luffy..."

"And I can still go to the dojo? You won't stop me from doing what I want?"

"As long as you're safe, I suppose not."

"I'll think about it." After that pronouncement, he sits down heavily and closes his eyes.

* * *

"Zoro! You should definitely stay with us! 'Cause then we'll share a room, and you can teach me more things, and we can go to the park together, and - "

"I get it! You want me to move in with you! Will you let go of my arm?"

It may not have been a good idea to tell Luffy before Zoro made up his mind.

"Fine! Whatever! If you want me here so much!" Zoro turns from his position on the floor to look at Robin. "Oi, woman, I guess I'll stay here. You're gonna have to deal with the paperwork, you know."

"Yes." She looks forward to it.

* * *

"Garp D. Monkey? Yes, hi, this is Robin Nico... Yes, Luffy's more than fine. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about someone else. There's a boy named Roronoa Zoro who's come to my attention lately... He's a friend of Luffy. You see, he's an orphan, and I'd like to adopt him... Yes, I know you want me looking after your grandson, but I wondered if you could help me arrange it... No, I think you should deal with Child Services... Well, if _I_ went to them, I might be tempted to mention that you left your grandson with known criminals and didn't sign him up for school... Oh, your schedule has opened up? How convenient for me! Yes, Saturday sounds great. See you then."

* * *

Of course, another child means more responsibilities. He has to enter school months late, and there's all sorts of explanations to come up with. He's got to have doctor's appointments and a bed and all new clothes. But it's worth it to see Luffy and Zoro together, running around the neighborhood, happy and relatively carefree. He's still closed off, and most likely always will be to some extent, but he's more like a child now, less stern. And he might grumble and complain, but he always says thanks when Robin does something for him, and looks at Luffy like he's his entire world. Parenting may not be something she would ever have chosen for herself, but she feels an immense satisfaction, watching them interact and grow.

"We're gonna go train, 'kay?" Luffy yells from near the door.

"Be careful," she admonishes, watching them leave from the window. Luffy leaps down the stairs happily, shouting at Zoro to hurry up and he walks briskly behind him.

_Robin Nico_, she thinks, _you have done a good thing._

* * *

**AN/ And so it begins... my using Garp of a convenient plot device so I don't have to write out the long and grueling process of adoption... (Fun fact: I have two adopted siblings!) **

**See y'all next time! Which may be a while... I'm going out of town, and have school things going on. But never fear! This fic is going down!**


	4. The world a hostile city from the start

For about a week now, Robin has been occupied with trying to get Zoro to finish a project - all that's required is a simple drawing of his neighborhood. She suspects he's been struggling with it due to a learning disability. There's a real possibility he has dyspraxia, or a mild form of dyscalculia. It would explain his sense of direction, certainly. She wishes she had the money to get him tested.

For now, she has to devote a good portion of her time to helping him through assignments he finds difficult and preventing him from wandering off to Maine. She's sure she'll have similar problems with Luffy in the future, but luckily the kindergarten curriculum is not particularly grueling. He can manage doodling brightly colored pictures just fine on his own, and as of this moment, Robin hasn't been called in for a parent-teacher meeting despite him having depicted himself holding multiple guns and punching people for touching his hat. She guesses this is due to his teacher being rather... unorthodox. Or perhaps it's because Luffy's drawings are indecipherable without his translation; she fondly remembers his sketch of her which Zoro had insisted was actually a perfect replication of a Christmas tree.

Perhaps that's why she hadn't realized Luffy was feeling down before now.

He'd seemed alright on their walk home today, though she probably hadn't been paying the amount of attention she ought to. Once they where home, she'd rushed Zoro to the sitting room the place least likely to distract him due to its lack of windows and boring furniture. She'd taken breaks to make sure Luffy had a snack and wasn't destroying his room in the name of building a fort, but until dinner time, she hadn't noticed his poor mood.

It's very apparent now, as he pokes morosely at his meal of mash potatoes and tenderloin. Not that he's not eating - the day on which Luffy doesn't eat will be a dark one indeed - but it's not with his usual vigor. He's also sighing on occasion, causing Zoro to glare at him in irritation. In fact, Zoro looks more annoyed by the second.

"I'm sure she's going to be fine, moron. Stop moping about it - it's not gonna change anything."

"But..." Luffy's bottom lips wobbles. "She's probably really sad right now!"

"So?" He scowls. "People have to be sad sometimes. That's just how life is." To Robin's ears, he sounds older than his eleven years.

Luffy's face becomes firmer, and he crosses his little arms over his blue T-shirt. "I don't want her to feel bad, so she shouldn't." It's clear from his expression that he thinks the world should conform to his will.

Zoro rolls his eyes. "You can't expect her to change how she feels in this situation to make _you_ happy. I don't think that's her biggest concern right now."

"No! That's not what I meant." He pauses, biting at his lip, while Robin tries to scope out of whom they're speaking. "I'm gonna make her feel better. That's all I meant."

"I hope you don't mind if I cut into your conversation," Robin says, mildly concerned, "but to whom are you referring?" She thinks she knows, but wants to make sure she understands the entire situation.

"Luffy made friends with this girl in the second grade, named Nami. You know, the one he won't shut up about?" As she'd thought, something must have happened to Luffy's second playmate. She hasn't met her yet, but has been regaled with many stories regarding her, such as helping Luffy with school work and then demanding recompense for her kindness.

"Zoro's friends with her too!" Luffy asserts, and continues to speak over his protests. "But... Today we found out why she missed school all last week." He looks down, his sad expression returning.

"Her mom died," Zoro says, bluntly yet quietly.

"Yeah. She was awesome." Luffy sighs. "And I want Nami to stop looking so sad."

"I keep telling you, she's gonna get through this on her own. You can't force her to feel better!" He turns to Robin for support on this, and she nods.

"Let her grieve in her own way, alright sir?"

"You guys just don't understand! There's something wrong with her!" Luffy exclaims.

Zoro glares at him. "Would you quit being so weird?"

"What do you think is wrong with her then?" Robin asks, confused.

Zoro answers before Luffy can get a chance to. "He's got some crazy idea that her new guardian is evil."

Robin turns to her other charge expectantly. "I don't like that Arlong guy," is all he says in his defense.

"Why?" she says, a little intrigued. Luffy, from what she's seen, has a rather good sense of character.

"He's mean. Nami is scared of him."

"God, how do you know that? We've only ever seen him once!"

"I can tell." Luffy's boyish voice is uncharacteristically hard. "And he took her away from her sister."

Zoro frowns. "I didn't know she had a sister."

"She does. Nami told me Arlong only wanted her. I don't like it."

When she thinks about it, Robin doesn't like the sound of that either, but there's very little she can do. Still, that night, she spends more time than she probably should dwelling on the conversation.

* * *

Observation has made it clear that Luffy has terrible concentration on Fridays - well, more than usual. It's probably because he knows he has a weekend full of playing with Zoro or pretending to be an Olympic athlete ahead of him. Her hypothesis seems to be supported by the meat-filled lunch bag lying on the kitchen table. It's lucky for him that the library is having renovation done and thus she doesn't have to go in to work.

She smiles fondly as she picks up the brown paper bag. Really, she should have noticed he hadn't stuffed it in his backpack that morning, but usually his food is the one thing she can trust him to remember.

Well, she ought to go take it to him, if only so he doesn't end up eating one of his class mates. He might get indigestion.

* * *

Although she has both boys' schedule memorized, she arrives at the school about fifteen minutes early, mostly to ensure she's able to find the cafeteria before lunch time. A lady asks her to wait outside the office after giving her directions, and so she sits herself in the uncomfortable plastic chair, clutching the bag and taking time to observe the goings on around her. Class is in at the moment, but the occasional student or staff member will pass by, giving Robin something to look at.

She'd noticed the thin orange-haired girl sitting next to her as soon as she'd taken a seat, but hadn't paid much attention to her. However, during a stretch of time when the hallway is empty, she realizes the girl is staring at her, and glances down inquisitively. The girl starts and looks away, biting her lip.

Not wanting to make a child nervous, Robin says in her gentlest tone, "What's your name? I'm Robin Nico."

The girl looks back up, allowing Robin to take note of her wide brown eyes and pleasant circular face. "I'm Nami Apelsin."

Recognition comes to her, and she associates all the stories she'd heard with the face before her, imagining it turning impish and teasing Zoro or darkening with sadness. "What a pretty name. Swedish, is it not?"

Nami nods, her eyes going even wider. "Yeah. My last name, anyway. Belle - I mean, I don't really know where my first name comes from."

Robin smiles in a way she hopes is reassuring. She remembers being a little girl who has just lost her mother. "Sounds very interesting." She ponders whether or not to mention Luffy. She wants to put the child at ease and take her mind away from her problems, but what good would it do for her to get attached when it mostly likely will lead to nothing? Besides, she's never been one to give up information when she doesn't have to -

She stops to wonder what she's even thinking? She isn't an assassin anymore - she doesn't have any reason to be looking at the world this way. "You know, my kids talk about you a lot."

"Huh?"

"You know Luffy, yes?"

"Oh, you're Luffy and Zoro's mom! They talk about you too." Nami giggles, a bubbly and light sound. "How do you put up with them? So annoying! 'Nami, I can't figure out how to tie my shoelaces!' 'Nami, Zoro ended up locked in the janitor's closet again!' 'Nami, what's the nutritional value of boogers?' And Zoro's so stubborn he hasn't talked to me since I stole his stupid action figure after he said nothing can get past him." She quits talking, her laughter having turned into a fond smile.

"It sounds like you manage to find a way to put up with them as well."

"Well..." Nami looks down, picking at her fingers. "They're not so bad, all the time."

"I see." She leans back in her seat. She can see what Luffy sees in her.

"But really, Miss... Uh, can I call you Miss Robin?"

"That's fine."

"I think it's so cool that you adopted those guys. It's one thing when Moms go out and get pregnant 'cause they wanna look after kids but when someone who just takes care of kids who aren't really theirs, and treats them like family..." Nami clenches her hand. "I think they're special."

Robin looks down at the orange hair, surprised and touched. "What a kind thing of you to say."

"I mean it, though."

"I'm sure you do. Thank you very much, regardless."

After that, the hallway fades into silence, only the distant buzz of teachers lecturing and the murmur of children's voices coming to Robin's ears. It's a companionable silence, she thinks, feeling as she and Nami are kindred spirits.

It's broken in a few moments by the grating sound of the bell, and Robin prepares to say goodbye to the girl so she can bring Luffy his food. She opens her mouth, but a loud "There you are!" cuts her off before she can.

A large man with a hook nose and narrow eyes comes stalking down the hall, and Robin sees Nami sink in her seat. "Got caught stealing again I see! We're going to have to have a talk about this habit of yours when we get home." From a regular parent, those scolding words wouldn't be anything wrong, but Robin doesn't like how they sound coming out of this man's mouth.

Robin looks on in concern as the tall man - Arlong, she guesses - takes a squeezing hold of Nami's arm and yanks her towards the door, only allowing her a few moments to glance back at Robin.

She doesn't like what she sees in those eyes, either.

* * *

She tries her best to keep an eye out for Nami during the next few weeks, often asking Luffy about her or, when she gets a chance to see her, making sure she's physically unharmed. It's possible she is being paranoid, but more and more she finds herself agreeing with Luffy - Nami is terrified of Arlong. When his name is brought up in conversation, she flinches or simply walks away from the person she's speaking to. She knows Luffy is still worried, and though he pulls all sorts of ridiculous stunts in attempts to make her smile, he'll often end up moping at the end of the day.

Nami has a lovely smile, a somewhat free and fragile looking expression, one Robin hopes will never be ruined. It's always with an ache in her heart that she watches Nami walk home alone, appearing as if she'd like to disappear into herself. But beyond what she's doing at the moment, Robin isn't sure of what she can do.

Outside of Nami's person, she has more to worry about. There's a strange man with a pinwheel on his hat who Robin has begun to notice frequently hangs around the school. On more than one occasion, she's caught him staring at Nami, or seen the girl herself recognize him and swiftly turn away. It's another layer of mystery, and another problem that's been bothering her.

She prefers to know all that she can before entering any situation, and knows next to nothing about the pinwheel man - the one time she'd asked Nami about him, she'd sealed her lips shut and ignored her. Nevertheless, Robin finds herself approaching the man one day.

The only time she'd ever previously seen him was out of the corner of her eye around the school, which of course was cause for worry. At the moment, he looks rather innocuous, pushing a grocery cart containing a few cartons of orange juice. He's on the tall side, wearing clothes that seem distinctly military to her, and his face looks stern, though his appearance is somewhat belied by the pinwheel spinning away on his hat.

"Hello," Robin says.

The man raises an eyebrow, as she is blocking his way down the aisle. It's a Saturday, and Robin has left the boys at home - at the school, she had to both watch the man and her kids, but here she has time to get some answers.

"I recognize you," the man says. "You're the lady whose son is flirting with my Nami, correct?"

"There are two things wrong with that question," Robin says, coldly. "For one, Luffy does not _flirt_. For another, I don't think a man who stalks a second grader should be using a possessive pronoun in regard to her. Wouldn't you agree?"

The man looks taken aback for a moment before stepping away from Robin, seemingly a reflexive action. "Lady, I think you have the wrong idea about me. Can I buy you a meal and explain things to you?"

She raises her eyebrows, mimicking his earlier expression. "Alright."

* * *

The man, whose name is Gen, explains that he was close friends with Nami's late mother, a woman by the name of Bellemere. He's known both Nami, and her sister Nojiko, since they were very small.

"I can see why you were so suspicious of me. It's a very admirable trait," Gen says over their sandwiches. "It's just that I'm very worried about Nami, and I see it as my duty to look after her in her mother's place."

Robin leans forward. "So you don't think her current guardian is doing a sufficient job?" she presses.

"I was in the national guard for twenty years," Gen says, face growing dark. "Arlong is a dangerous man - my gut tells me so, as does his ongoing police investigation. There's so many strange things about how he came into custody of Nami..." He trails off, looking down into his glass of water. "He comes into town one week, and the next one Bellemere is dead, after her having expressed doubts to me that this 'Arlong' was an upstanding fellow. Then he's Nami's birth father, with documents all drawn up, and I can't do a thing. But he doesn't want Nojiko - they're not blood related, and thus not family." Gen hardens his grip on the glass. "The bright side is that I have custody of Nojiko, but those girls are sisters, no matter what the damn court says. They should get to be together!"

Robin says nothing for a moment, digesting what she's been told. Eventually, she says, "It sounds to me you have some doubts regarding Bellemere's death."

He nods. "She was found shot through the head outside her own home. Neither Nojiko or Nami saw anything. The gun was found nearby the scene of the crime - no prints, no ID. Seems like a hit to me." Gen looks around before continuing to speak. "I think it was Arlong, or at least someone in his gang."

"What does he want with Nami?"

Gen shakes his head. "I don't know. And that's what scares me."

* * *

It's a Thursday, and Robin has managed to get Luffy and Zoro to sleep by eight - not too much of an accomplishment, considering that they enjoy their beauty rest much more than most children. Still, it should give her some time to relax before she has to go to work.

She's just settled down with a book when she hears the doorbell to her apartment ring, surprising her. She can't think of who it could be.

She is even more surprised when she opens the door to Nami, who looks very small in the glow of the street lights.

"Can - can I stay here tonight?" she asks, toeing the mat.

"Of course," Robin says, opening the door wider to let her in. "Luffy and Zoro are already asleep," she says quietly, gesturing for Nami to have a seat at the kitchen table. She brings her a cup of water and notes with growing anger the darkening bruise under the girl's left eye.

She doesn't push, not wanting to upset her, and allows her to drink in silence. Nami looks tired, and though she is upright and rigid in her chair, she also looks breakable.

"I'm sorry for coming here," she says.

"No," Robin replies. "You should always have somewhere to go. I hope you don't mind my asking, but how did you find us?"

"I know this city," she says confidently, and Robin is glad she gave her something pleasant to speak about. "You always go down Wisteria Street from the school, and the only apartment complex in that direction is on Going Merry Lane. Luffy told me about you guys's building, and he also told me that he keeps his Captain America shield in the window, so I just kept on the look out for that. It wasn't too hard."

"I'm very impressed," Robin says, standing up. Nami beams. "Would you like anything to eat?" she asks, walking over to the refrigerator.

"Would you mind... I mean, do you have any tangerines?"

"I believe we do," Robin says, reaching into the produce crisper. "Ah." She brings the fruit to the girl and watches her peel it.

Still not wanting to pry to deeply, she sighs, trying to think of an unobtrusive question. "Why did you choose to come here in the first place?"

She looks at her tangerine. "I... don't think I can tell you."

Robin wants to urge Nami to trust her, to ensure her that everything is going to be okay, but she's sat on the other side of the table before. She has to hope that Nami will open up on her own. "If you ever want to tell me anything, I'm here to listen."

She puts a slice of the fruit into her mouth, tear tracks starting to run down her face. "I want to tell you. I'm - I'm scared."

Without thought, she mutters, as any adult would to a distraught child, "It will be okay, Nami. Everything's going to be fine." Only seconds later does she realize her mistake and blatant hypocrisy.

"You can't just say that!" The girl looks up, suddenly angry, even through the tears on her cheeks. "You don't know everything! You just want me to feel better!"

"I'm sorry," she says soothingly. "You're right - I don't know what you're going through. How about this instead: I will do everything in my power to make things better for you."

Nami freezes, not reacting for several moments, before burying her face in her hands. "I'm so tired," she mutters, seemingly to herself. "I want Mom to come and take care of me. I don't want to be alone any more."

"You don't have to be."

Nami looks up, hope flickering in her eyes. "I'm going to tell you," she says quietly. "If you can't do anything, I'll understand. But you have to promise not to tell anyone, if you can't."

Robin doesn't want to make a promise she can't keep, but she nods.

Nami takes a deep breath. "I saw Arlong shoot my mom." Her voice only wavers a little as she says it, though fresh tears have sprung in her eyes. "I know I told the police that I was in the house with Nojiko, but I..." She bites her lip, hard. "I was lying."

Robin lets out a shocked "Why?" and immediately regrets it. She'd planned to let Nami finish her story without interruption.

It seems as though she expected the outburst. "He said if I ever told anyone he'd kill Nojiko. But... I'm telling you." As she'd said earlier, she looks very tired.

"It's okay - I doubt he'll be able to find out."

"You - you're right." She wipes at her eyes, taking a moment to compose herself. "He was going to kill me, I was sure of it, but he found out I was good at stealing things. He said something about how double homicide with one of them being infanticide would just create more suspicion, so he had a friend of his make fake papers saying he was my real dad." She sniffs. "He's not."

"I believe you."

Nami looks up at Robin, and the words begin to pour out. "He wouldn't feed me, because he said a bitch like me should be able to steal food. He makes me stay in a tiny room. I miss Mom, and Nojiko, and Gen." She yawns, completely spent. "I'm really worried he's gonna hurt Nojiko because I ran away after he hit me." She trails on, releasing all of the fear and pain she's been holding on to, Robin listening quietly. Eventually, her eyelids begin to droop, and she nods off at the table. Robin lifts Nami up, frowning at how light she is, and places her on the couch with a blanket drawn over her.

"You don't have to carry this alone anymore."

* * *

That night, she doesn't go to her job, knowing she has a large day ahead of her. It does put her off her sleep cycle, though she is more than used to that sort of thing. In the morning, she wakes up early and drags the boys up as well. They're both annoyed with her until she tells them they have the day off of school.

"Keep quiet while Nami sleeps," she instructs, "and don't burn down the house while I'm gone, alright?" They nod along, Luffy barely containing his excitement that he gets another friend in the house.

From there, Robin exits the apartment, ready to do what she has to.

In the past, she would killed him, and taken delight in it. Even now she can feel her fingers twitching for a gun, and anger burning low in her gut. She hates this man for what he's done to a family, and to a small child, and she wants to take revenge.

Things have changed now. Robin has children to think of - she can't bring suspicion down on her head. This is a situation she will have to handle with a little more delicacy, as much as she might enjoy snapping a neck at the moment. If there's something she's learned in the past few months, it's not always a bad thing to need help.

* * *

"I know you," Arlong says, smiling cruelly. She's approached him on his home ground, a large, oddly shaped building - a criminal base if she's ever seen one. "One of Nami's little friends, eh? Here on her behalf?" He lounges back on a chair that's reminiscent of a throne, and Robin can see a gun resting against his right leg.

She smiles icily. "Yes, I am."

"Where is the little brat? She go runnin' to you?"

"I'm not sure that's any of your business." Robin steps to the side, noting the position of the windows in this building.

"Ah, but I'm her father, according to the law."

"And according to biology? Was a DNA test ever taken?"

"Oh yes. You see, I have friends in high places."

"Interesting." She's finally found herself in a good spot. "But I'd like to talk about you."

Arlong's eyes narrow. "Oh yes? And about what?"

"You see, I've been led to believe that you were the one who killed a woman by the name of Bellemere." She states this evenly, waiting to see his reaction.

His face turns darker, and he reaches for his gun. "The little bitch talked! I didn't think she had it in her." He sighs, and Robin watches him closely. "What a shame! She would have done well as a criminal - but I guess that comes out in the fact that she's such a good backstabber." Arlong levels the gun at Robin, which she looks at calmly. "I'll just have to kill you, and the brat. Maybe I'll pick off that cute sister of Nami's too, if I have the time." His eyes narrow. "You don't look very scared for a housewife."

Robin smiles. "Oh? Perhaps that's because I am not a housewife at all."

Arlong looks confused, his finger tensing on the trigger, before he notices a red dot of a sniper's gun hovering on his chest. He looks up at Robin, realization and hatred boiling in his eyes, as she takes off the tiny microphone and hearing device from around her neck and head.

She walks away from the man, not bothering to look back as he shouts curses after her. "Was that enough?" she asks.

"Yes ma'am!" cries a voice in reply.

* * *

_"In a hypothetical situation, there's a young girl of about eight. She saw her mother murdered, but lied to the police about it due to her sister's life being threatened. Would her new testimony be taken seriously in court?" _

_Smoker frowns, taking a puff of one of his cigars. "It's probably not enough, especially if the guy's got dough to get himself a good lawyer. Besides, it's hard to get kids to speak in court, and if your 'hypothetical man' is part of, let's say, a criminal organization, she'd have to live under a witness protection of the sort for at least a year." _

_"I see. And if there was an uninvolved woman who's not a known cop willing to go undercover and try to get the man to convict himself, what then?" _

_"Then I'd say it's worth a try."_

* * *

Robin is driven home by a van full of starry-eyed young cops, one of whom asks her out to coffee. All she wants to do right now is go home to her children and rest, and gently lets the man down.

All three kids are in the street when she gets home, the sunlight dwindling on the horizon. Luffy's up high climbing a tree, and Zoro, for whatever reason, is kicking a street post. Nami is sitting on the sidewalk watching ants go about their business.

"I'm sorry I was gone so long," she calls out to them, and sees Luffy miss a branch trying to turn to see her. Luckily, he doesn't fall, and immediately starts to climb down, babbling something about Pokemon. Zoro rolls his eyes and says "Typical."

Nami looks up at her, hope in her eyes. Robin smiles. "Arlong won't be bothering you anymore." Zoro lets out a grunt of approval, while Luffy cheers, but her attention is focused on the girl before her. "You might have to talk to the police soon. Is that okay?" Nami nods wordlessly. "Because of how brave you're being, some bad people might try to hurt you, so we're going to have to work together to keep you safe. Would you like to stay here for a while?"

She can see the girl considering. "Can I see Nojiko?"

"Of course. The catch will be we're going to have to call you by a different name, and maybe dye your hair."

"In that case..." She takes a deep breath. "What's my allowance?"

"We'll see." She takes Nami's hand to bring her into the house, looking forward to calling Garp later that night.

* * *

**AN/ laconic edge, is, yet again, the awesomest person ever, and fixed this chapter up great! Sorry for the delay - I wanted to watch the sixth movie again in my sparse free time over the last week *has terrible excuses*. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the long chapter and hopefully the next one will be sooner rather than later. Thanks again to everyone who followed or faved.  
**


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